Relatively Simple
by GalileeVisions
Summary: Romano gets an unexpected visitor and turns to Elizabeth for help. *Cordano*
1. Introduction

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking out my first attempt at fan fiction. Please review my story. I'd really like to know what you think. Most people say "Please be nice," but I really don't care. If you don't like the story you can tell me. I accept any kind of criticism, constructive or just a whole bunch of cursing at me. 

This story is about ER. It takes place right after the hospital reopened from the Smallpox outbreak (beginning season 9) and I'm going to take a little bit of creative liberties and pretend that Romano never lost his arm. It seems like all the Romano fics revolve around that and I want to be different.

I'm actually borrowing an idea from another story I read. I thought the idea was genius, but I didn't like what the author did with the characters or with the conflict. So here is my take on the situation. "What situation?" you might ask. You'll have to read and see. 

All I can tell you is:

Romano gets an unexpected visitor and turns to Elizabeth for help. There will be a Cordano relationship. And the story that I'm borrowing an idea from is "Surprise Daddy" by happy_gal2002uk.

One more thing before I go. I hate this part. "I don't own ER, Robert, Elizabeth, etc., etc., blah blah blah." If you don't know that, then I feel sorry for you.  I'm not sure if I can get in trouble for not saying it though. So I said it. Happy? LoL, sorry about that.

CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR UPDATES ! ! !


	2. The Greatest Gift

Robert Romano sat quietly reading the Sunday paper at the counter of Doc Magoo's. His plum colored button up shirt, paired with a matching plum and lilac tie and black slacks gave him more of a lawyer's look than a doctor's. The giveaway was the white lab coat, slightly bloodstained on the front from an earlier trauma, strewn across the stool next to him. A deliberately placed deterrent to any colleague or other detriment to society that might have the inclination to sit near him. Robert absentmindedly picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. His face contorted in disgust. 'You'd think you'd need a PHD to make a decent cup of coffee,' he thought to himself as he dumped the burnt brew into the sink on the other side of the counter.

He dropped a dollar and some change onto the counter, picked up his jacket and paper, and went to walk out the door. In the back of the diner he noticed a young blonde girl looking at him. She could have only been 15. She looked familiar. He wondered if he'd see her in the ER before, maybe even the OR. He brushed it off and walked out of the building and across the street back to the hospital.

***

          An hour or two later, just as he was walking by the elevator, Robert's pager began to vibrate at his hip. He looked quickly and noticed that it was the code for the ER. He snuck between the enclosing doors a second before they shut. Someone was probably in need of a surgical consult. He thought that odd though, considering he hadn't heard of any big traumas coming in and Elizabeth was supposed to be handling the ER today. 

          Romano walked quickly out of the elevator and over to admit. He noticed the same young blonde girl from the restaurant sitting in chairs. He saw Abby talking on her cell phone, it didn't seem like a casual conversation, but he knew it wasn't hospital business either so he decided to interrupt her. "Ms. Lockhart, can I have a word with you?" he asked, visibly annoyed. "That is, if your personal matters aren't too pressing," he added sarcastically.

          Abby sighed in frustration, "Listen Maggie, I gotta go. I'll call you back later. Please take your meds." She hung up the phone and mouthed a quick apology to Dr. Romano about her mother's mental health and other family troubles.

          "Not my business, not my problem, not on my time," he told her hurriedly and then looked over at the girl in chairs. "That girl there, the blonde with the curls. What's she here for?"

          "That's actually why I paged you. Her mother's here waiting on oncology in Exam 2, name's Tracy Warner. Says she knows you, wants to speak with you."

          "Never heard of her," he said without thinking too hard. That must be why the girl looks familiar, he though, mother's a past patient. "Why's she here?"

Abby took a look at her chart, "Presented with a laceration on the hand from a piece of broken glass. Wouldn't clot. She's stage 4 Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Possible refractory, she hasn't been responding to chemo."

"Any other symptoms?" Romano asked her, now trying to remember who this woman was.

"She's anemic and her spleen is swollen. Might need a splenectomy."

"I'll be the judge of that," he said snatching the chart from her hand and walking away towards the exam room.

Robert knocked lightly on the door to announce his presence before he stepped into the room. "Mrs. Warner," he saw the woman lying on the bed. Her face was sallow and drawn, her eyes dark and sunken. Her hand was wrapped in fresh white gauze, while her head was wrapped in a kerchief that, Robert guessed, hid her hairless head. Her chart said she was only a year younger than he, but he would have thought her to be at least 10 years his senior. This was the kind of consult he hated the most, because he knew that whatever he did would not save this woman. "How are you feeling?"

"It's Miss Warner actually, I'm not married. But please Robert, call me Tracy," she rasped in a weak voice.

"Tracy," Robert paused, taking the name in. He tried his hardest to remember this woman. She couldn't have been a patient. He'd remember a disease like this. "How is it, exactly, that I know you?"

"We met at my cousin's graduation party right after you finished med school," she noticed the puzzled look on his face. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to remember me, but I remember you. You gave me one of the greatest gifts of my life. I came here to thank you."

"How'd you find me?" Robert asked, slightly stunned by the fact that he'd left such an impression on a woman he met nearly 16 years ago. Then he realized it wasn't the question he should be asking. "Why'd you find me?"

"I hired a private investigator that specializes in locating family members," the whole time Tracy had been talking she had been staring past Robert in sort of a daze. Now she looked him directly in the eyes. "I don't have any family or close friends. And I know I don't have much longer until the cancer wins out. I need you to take care of my daughter. Take care of _our_ daughter."

Robert Romano's eyes widened and his head began to spin. A flood of memories rushed through his mind. Jason Warner's graduation party, Jason's sexy cousin. Too much wine, too little supervision, and too caught up in the moment to care. Robert sat down on a chair in the corner of the room to take this information in.


	3. Getting To Know You

Tracy answered all of Robert's questions about her disease, her daughter's care, what's been going on for the past 16 years, and other relevant inquiries. He found out that Tracy didn't want to ruin Robert's career before it had even started. That's why she hadn't told him that she got pregnant. He lost touch with her cousin and never thought of Tracy again after that one night. Now she had no other choices but him or foster care.

Robert walked out of her room and over to the young girl sitting in chairs. Now that he got closer and paid a little more attention he noticed that the girl's hair was darker than he originally thought. It was more of a dark strawberry blonde with a hint of red to it. Her curls were somewhere between waves and ringlets. 'She really is quite beautiful', he thought. He definitely saw a lot of himself in her. The hair he had when he was 15, her short, slim stature, and especially her eyes. Her dark, chocolaty brown eyes mirrored his exactly. They showed the same awkward nervousness that he was feeling.

He sat down in the seat next to her. "Hi," he said with a small smile. "I'm Robert Romano." He timidly extended his hand to shake. Robert could be called lots of things, but never before was shy one of them. He was terrified.

The girl smiled, gently shaking his hand, "Robyn Gracie Warner, or Romano. I don't really know how that's supposed to work. It's nice to finally meet you." She laughed nervously, "That's probably the understatement of the year."

"I'm sorry it took this long," he said feeling somewhat guilty. He knew he shouldn't feel bad. How could he have known that there was a part of him existing somewhere else?

"Don't be. I get that it wasn't your choice. My mom's given me a really nice life by herself," Robyn glanced over to her mother's exam room with an overwhelming sorrow in her eyes. "The doctors said she only had about a month left. That was over a month and a half ago. How long do you think she'll last? She's been looking worse the past few days." It comforted her to know that he could answer her medical questions. She felt that he'd be honest with her and not sugar coat everything like the other doctors did.

Robert didn't want to give the girl false hopes, the situation didn't look good. He couldn't look her in the eyes. He'd said this to strangers a hundred times, and to him she really was a stranger, but somehow this was different. "I don't think she'll last the night," he paused, still staring down at his hands. "We have her on a lot of pain medication right now, but I think that's all we can do for her. I'm sorry." 

Robyn's eyes welled up with tears; she didn't know what to do. She wanted to run into the arms of her mother like she did when she was a baby, but now her mother was too weak to even hug her. Robert set a hand on her shoulder and escorted her into the doctor's lounge so they could have a little bit of privacy. Some of the staff were beginning to notice his very un "Rocket" like behavior. Luckily it was unoccupied. They sat opposite each other in front of the table.

Robert placed a hand on hers to try and console the girl as best he could. It seemed like it calmed her down a bit and she stopped crying. "Where are you staying now?" he asked her.

"We got to Chicago a few days ago. We were staying at the Holiday Inn, but we checked out this morning," Robyn pulled her hand away. It was nice of him when she was crying, but now it made her a little uncomfortable. He sensed that too and was happy she pulled away. She attempted some conversation, "I've gotta confess, Dr. Romano. I've kinda been following you around a little since I first got here. Before I actually met you I wanted to see what you were like."

Robert smiled. So that's why she looked familiar. He must have seen her in random places the past few days. "And that didn't scare you away?" he asked genuinely surprised. He knew he didn't have that great of a first impression. Hell, he didn't leave a good impression on people he's known for years.

She glanced around nervously, "Actually, I was terrified. You seemed, well… mean, impatient, angry, sarcastic, egocentric…" she drifted off.

Robert laughed, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"No, but your not what I thought you'd be like at all," Robyn explained, not wanting to offend him.

He looked her in the eyes and said seriously, "A lot of people in this hospital don't like me. I'm Chief of Surgery, Chief of Staff, and the best goddamn surgeon in this place. When I'm at work or when I'm dealing with people from work then I'm everything you said and worse because I take my job seriously," he paused, then added with a grin, "But when I'm not working, I'm a pretty okay guy. And you can call me anything you want except for 'Dr. Romano' or 'Bob'. Can't stand the name 'Bob'."

Robyn smiled; so far she really liked this man. She wasn't ready to call him 'Dad' just yet, she didn't know if she ever would be. She decided that for now 'Rob' would do.

Helah walked into the lounge and told Dr. Romano that she needed to talk with him outside. He excused himself and left Robyn. A minute later he walked solemnly back into the room.

"I'm sorry, Robyn," he said gently. "Your mother just passed away. I'll take you to see her if you'd like." 

Again Robyn's eyes welled with tears and she almost collapsed in sobs. Instinctively she pressed herself against Robert and buried her face in his chest. She needed some kind of contact. She just wanted her mother to hold her once more, but she knew that could never happen. Robert wrapped one arm around her trembling body and with his other hand he cradled her head. He understood that she needed to know that she wasn't alone. He was all she had now. Even though they were perfect strangers she felt safe in Robert's arms, and he felt whole with her in his arms.


End file.
